Are You Ready to Spring Clean YOU?
Sitting at a dinner party, my seat mate excitedly shared with the group the secret behind her recent weight loss. She didn’t eat. For two weeks.
Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, it’s certainly not sustainable, plus the roller coaster ride one’s metabolism experiences from long term fasting or calorie restriction can lead to weight regain. Spring may be the time to clean out the junk, but I’m looking for a plan that can keeps the place looking good for the long term. A new season, warming temperatures and the energy for change starts to build. You are ready to dive in! However, whether this is the year for a light tidy-up or a more intensive revamp, any approach to rethinking your wellbeing needs to be one that can last.
Hello to Tiny Habits. My colleague introduced me to this concept, developed by Stanford University psychologist Dr B.J. Fogg. The premise behind Fogg’s behaviour changing methodology is that we need to make small adjustments which over time become automatic, leading to the creation of new long term habits. To do this we need to first identify the behaviour we want to change, then find the “tiny habits” that will help us achieve our goal, and thirdly, pair these new habits with a ‘trigger’, that is, something we do already.
Let’s say my goal is to clean up my diet. I’ll be doing something proactive for my health, ideally have more energy, and perhaps even achieve that glowing skin I’ve coveted. However, as important as my goal may be, it’s ambitious and vague. There is a reason only 8% of people keep their New Year Resolutions. It’s time to dig a little deeper. In order to eat healthily I need to actually think about the food I am putting into my body. When am I least mindful about what I am eating? Between 11am and 4pm. I am on my laptop working, inevitably eating my lunch as I type. 3pm is my energy slump time, and sees me reaching for a snack to munch on absentmindedly as I look at my screen. Now that I have ‘dug deeper’ to refine my goal, I can pinpoint what new step needs to be introduced into my daily routine. My tiny habit will be screen-free eating. To get this habit to stick, I need to pair it with something I am already doing. Picking up my food will be my signal to close my laptop. Once I am finished my lunch or snack the laptop is opened again.
A review of past studies by researchers out of Britain reveals that we consume more calories during distracted eating. Hence, closing my laptop while eating my lunch, and focussing on and enjoying my food will help me eat the meal that my body actually needs, rather than simply eating whatever happens to be available. An important reminder, but not overly surprising. The big revelation from the studies is that distracted eating also leads to overeating later in the day. Some estimates suggest that we could be consuming as much as 25% more calories. Not paying attention to what we are eating makes it difficult later on to remember our previous meals. It is this inability to recall our feelings of having been nourished and full that researchers identify as the reason for overeating at our next meal.
Picking up my food is my new signal to put down the device. A simple tiny habit that makes a meaningful difference in the enjoyment of my meal, and my ability to not overindulge in the evenings. As an added bonus, setting aside my laptop while eating also keeps it from becoming a breeding ground for unhealthy bacteria. Another spring cleaning triumph achieved!
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